The Quest
by shadow6539
Summary: Reyna and Nico arrive in Italy to celebrate their six month anniversary. It's going great. NOT! Ares and Aphrodite show up to ask for a favor. Which means stealing from Ares brother, Hephaestus. Can they get what Ares wants back in time? (Reynico)
1. A Favor

"You shouldn't have. How- how did you...?" Reyna's question trailed off at the beautiful scenery.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve," a smile appeared on the Son of Hades face.

"But, Italy?! We've traveled thousands of miles in seconds!"

"I've been perfecting my shadow traveling. I wanted to surprise you."

"Mission accomplished." Reyna had always wanted to go to Italy, but she never could go. She never had the time. Even these few hours were stretching it. Festus might burn some of the temples. Or Hannibal might trample some of the campers. Or Octavian might pick a fight. Reyna shuddered. She didn't want to pick up the pieces of _that _fight. Wet stuffing was everywhere. It took weeks to clean it up. Or maybe-

_Stop it._ Reyna chided her over imaginative brain. _New Rome can last a few hours without a crisis, right? Right?!_

As if he could read her mind, Nico answered her question," New Rome's going to fine. Trust me."

"How could you tell I was thinking about Camp Jupiter?"

"I've known you long enough to known when your worrying."

"Six months..." and he could already tell? Was she that obvious?

Again, Nico answered her silent question," You always try to hide it so, I made sure I could tell. I want to help."

"What if I don't want any help?"

"I don't like you pretending that you're happy when you're miserable."

Reyna was starting to get annoyed, _very_ fast. "I don't need help, I'm _fine _. "

"Are you?"

Reyna was about to answer that yes, of course she was, when something caught her eye. A couple was staring at them. They didn't stop staring after she saw them, which was odd.

"Nico..."

"What?"

"That couple over there, they're watching us."

Nico zeroed in on them and gave the man the death stare. That stare gave even Percy the creeps, but it generated the exact opposite of what Nico intended. The guy had the nerve to smile.

"Who is he?" Reyna asked, looking back at Nico.

"I don't know, but I suddenly have the urge to go punch him in the face. Come on." Nico led the way, his eyes set on the man.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"Ooooh, not very polite, just like your cuz. You cut to the chase, I like that," The man said. "But you shouldn't do that. Most of us don't like that."

Reyna frowned. A god, definitely. Not Roman, even if they were in Italy. He seemed Greek, but who was he? Reyna looked at the woman beside him. She was beautiful, and was getting more beautiful by the second. Reyna couldn't help but be instantly jealous, and with her getting a dose of random anger, she wasn't in a good mood. She knew who these people were now. They weren't monsters, but that hardly reassured her.

"Venus and Mars."

"That's right, but it's the flip versions."

"Reyna, your so pretty. I love your shirt, but you could've worn a dress instead." Reyna looked down at her shirt. It was her only dress shirt, purple with a nice flower design on the back. The kind that have a see through back side. "A purple one, since purple looks so good on you."

"Why are here?" Nico cut in.

"To come to see you of course!"

"Gods don't come to see demigods in Italy just to say 'hi'."

Ares smiled," You're smart. We didn't come to see to just to chat. I need a job done."

"Why us?"

"She wanted to see you guys, so I'm asking you. Hephaestus has something that's mine and I want it back, so I want you to go get it for me."

"Hermes can't get it for you?"

"Something about, 'that's stealing' or something, even though it was mine in the first place."

Reyna's mouth went dry. "You want us to steal something of yours back from Hephaestus? How are we supposed to do that?"

"Not my problem. Your the demigods, you figure it out. I want it back by this time tomorrow. No later. Got it?" When Reyna and Nico nodded, Ares's smile grew wider. "Good. Good luck, you're going to need it."

And with that, the two gods were gone.


	2. Not the Best Planning Session

"We are so screwed."

Reyna could only nod in agreement. Twenty four hours. It didn't seem like a very long time.

"What are we even looking for anyway?"

"We'll probably know when we see it."

"Probably," Nico started walking away. "Sorry it had to cut in to our date."

Reyna sighed. "It could've been worse."

"What could be worse then stealing from Hephaestus? Automatons? Machines? Who knows what else he has up his sleeve?"

"We can't back down now. We have a quest to conquer, and nothing's going to get in our way, right?" Reyna looked over Nico.

"That's why you're a good quest mate. Determined, even in danger," Nico took her hand. "And that's one of the many reasons I like you."

Reyna smiled. Even if she was the praetor of New Rome, she didn't get compliments that often. Nico wasn't one to give out compliments often either. Reyna squared her shoulders. "Where do we start?"

"I've never met Hephaestus, but Percy has. And Leo might give us some help."

"That's a good place to start."

"Better than starting without any leads. Maybe Annabeth can give us some idea about what we're looking for."

"You're smarter than you look."

"You're too kind."

Reyna smirked. He had the perfect amount of sarcasm. He didn't oversell it.

"Let's get going."

"I just don't get it..."

"Something Annabeth doesn't get? You guys are in deep do-do."

"Thanks Percy."

"Any time."

Nico rolled his eyes. "What don't you get?"

"I'm not seeing anything that would be considered important to Ares. No statues, or-"

"Something small. Did you find anything small?"

"Nothing. Nothing worth fussing over."

"Ten drachma says it's some sort of armor."

"What would Hephaestus want with armor? No it's got to be something else! But what?!"

"Wait just a sec, cuz," Percy waved his hands in a placating gesture. "Don't get so hot headed about this! It's going to be fine!"

Reyna put her hand on Nico's shoulder," Percy's right. Besides who cares about what it is? We just need to find it before Ares comes asking for it."

"Ares isn't known for his patience. Or being trustworthy," Annabeth spoke up.

"Annabeth's right. You'll need a game plan."

"I've got one. Find whatever Ares wants, give it to him, and move on with my life!"

Percy looked very startled by the sudden outburst. "Look-"

Nico didn't give him any time to say anything else," No you look! I'm so done with gods intervening with my life for favors and quests. I just want to get this job done so I can do something I want to do!" Nico turned to Annabeth," Tell me if you've found anything else," Nico turned on his heel and stomped out of Athena's cabin with Annabeth, Reyna. and Percy staring at his back the whole time.

Nico stomped out to the forest. Even though it was almost fully dark, nobody stopped him. When he was in one of _those_ moods, it was best to let him steam for a little while.

He stopped when he got to Zeus's fist, or what was left of it. It was one of his favorite places to sulk. Memories here made it a little easier to except what he was going through because there were times that were worse.

As he leaned back against the large pile of rocks, staring at the stars, he wondered if he had been to hard on everyone.

_They just don't get it._ He thought he was going to have a moment with Reyna. Now it was ruined.

He looked up at the sound of footsteps, thinking it was Percy or Reyna. He was surprised to Piper standing there.

"Hey."

"What're you doing here?"

"I saw you out here, so I thought we could talk."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"I don't, but I do get what you mean about the gods butting in," Piper looked up the sky, as if it was going to rain lightning bolts, which it could. "Can I sit down? "

"I don't know, can you?" Piper smiled. she sat down next to him.

"Trust me, the gods aren't exactly the nicest around, but we have to live with that. I know how you feel, really. My relationships haven't been easy with the gods around," When Nico stared at her questioningly, Piper shrugged," I'm the daughter of Aphrodite. I know this stuff," Piper put a hand on his shoulder," This will get better, I promise."

Piper got up. She brushed of her jeans," Well I should probably get going. Leo going to wonder where his helper disappeared to. He's working on a new project. Let's hope it won't kill us all. Works just like his dad. Which, by the way, Leo said that you might find his forge in Mount. St. Helens."

"Didn't Percy and Typhoon destroy Mount St. Helens?"

"Apparently there's still enough lava to keep a forge down there," Piper said. "Just be careful, and good luck."

As Piper turned to go Nico spoke up," Piper!"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," Piper turned back around," Oh yeah, you have a whole bunch of dirt on your back."

Piper quickly started to wipe it off. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. At least you didn't want Jason seeing it first."

Piper rolled her eyes, but even in the dark Nico could tell that she was blushing. Piper walked away.

Nico laid down and watched the stars for a while. It was nice.

He got back up when he heard footsteps. He assumed they were Piper's, but when he looked over he saw Reyna instead.

"Hey."

Nico nodded. "What are you doing out here."

"I was looking for you, what did you think I was doing?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you, but I was just so frustrated-"

"Shh..." Reyna put a finger to Nico's lips. "We always get frustrated sometimes, we're only human."

"I just wasn't expecting getting a quest."

"Neither was I, but we'll figure it out," Reyna smiled," We're a team, right?"

"Always."

"Come back to camp with me. Annabeth may have found some leads while we were gone."

"I've got a lead. Mount St. Helens."

"What's at the volcano? Didn't get destroy a few years ago?"

"Hephaestus still has a forge there."

"Well at least we know where we're going."

"Better than nothing."

They just stood there for a minute enjoying each other's company. Nico leaned a little closer closing the distance between them, when-

"Hey lovebirds!" both of their heads snapped up. "You can do that later, we've got planning to do!"

_ Great entrance Percy_, Nico thought sarcastically as he walked back towards camp with Reyna in tow. _Great entrance. _


	3. Hephaestus's forge

**I haven't updated this in a while, so I'm doing it now. I hope to finish the story by October 8th. And the Latin inscription says "only the strong survive" in case you where wondering. I had to use Google translate. And it's not in Ancient Greek, sorry. **

Nico and Reyna looked up at the volcano.

"I pictured it bigger."

"It was practically destroyed twice."

Nico shrugged," I still thought it was bigger."

"How are we going to get up there? You can't shadow travel into a volcano."

"We climb."

"Climb?! Who knows how long that will take?!"

"Got any better ideas?"

Reyna shook her head and closed here her eyes in thought._ Where is Scripio when you need him? _

The unmistakable sound of wings made her open her eyes. _That couldn't be... _

Her Pegasus landed a few feet away from them. Scripio, or Skippy, was the color of peanut butter. Skippy was one of the only animals (or mythical creatures) to actually go near Nico. Along with Arion, Mrs. O'Leary, Reyna's metal dogs, and occasionally Ella. Ella liked to recite facts about famous deaths and funerals around him. _Thanks Ella. _

"Are you sure about this? Last chance to bail."

Reyna ignored him as she climbed onto the Pegasus's back. She held out her hand," Coming?"

Nico sighed as he grabbed it. "Something going to blow up in our faces, I know it."

"Of course. That's why it's a quest. Everything has to go wrong."

Nico laughed as they started to fly.

They spent a few minutes in silence, just looking at the scenery.

"What's the plan?"

"Well, I was thinking of finding whatever Ares wants, grab it, and book it on out of there."

"So, we're gonna to wing it."

"In a nutshell."

"Great plan."

"Thought you'd like it."

* * *

They landed near the top. Scripio almost flew away when Reyna stopped him.

"Meet us here, okay boy? Meet us here," Reyna turned to look at Nico, who was crouching down on the ground. "Think you can make a hole?"

"Yeah, but we could fall into left over lava, or even if we did miss the lava, it would be a hard landing."

"Mmmm..."

"Maybe if we could find something to latch onto, like a ledge or something, it would make it easier to get down."

"We could give it a try."

Nico nodded. He placed a hand on the rock, and concentrated.

Reyna watched as a piece a the ground gave way. His abilities always peaked her interest. "You're going to have to show me how to do that."

"I'm flattered," He turned back to the hole. "There's a ledge a few hundred feet down. It looks big enough for the both of us, but we'd have to hit it just right."

"It's not like we have much of a choice."

"I'll go first," He frowned. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck. Don't squash yourself."

"Funny," With that, he jumped into the volcano.

* * *

Nico tried to focus as he looked down for the ledge. But he looked down at the lava. (Or is it magma?) i Tons /i of it. He nearly missed the ledge.

He barely managed to grab it. It was big, but he was worried if he could get up. He tried to swing his leg up, and eventually he managed to pull himself up. He was covered in sweat and he was exhausted.

"Come on down!" Nico shakily stood up, only to fall again when Reyna landed on top of him.

"Oof!"

"Sorry! I'm so sorry!" Reyna picked herself up and offered Nico a hand. "Are you okay? I didn't see you there, I just jumped and I-"

"It's fine," Nico cut off. "It doesn't hurt, that bad."

Reyna ignored the end of his sentence. "There seem to be ledges all the way down from here," she turned to Nico," Any good at rock climbing?"

"I can do that rock wall at CampHalf-Blood. That good enough?"

"Yeah, but instead of trying to get away from the lava, you're going towards it. Think you can handle it?"

Nico looked down and nodded. "I never thought we'd have to do this."

"Funny, I didn't either."

Nico grabbed the ledge and slowly lowered himself down until he was hanging from two separate ledges. Reyna followed suit afterwards.

They didn't speak for the whole time, afraid just one word would make one of them fall, or one of Hephaestus automatons find them. When Nico finally helped Reyna down, she brushed off her clothes and shared a look of pure determination with him. They weren't going to back down now, not when they were so close.

They found a small tunnel branching off the pit of lava they were already in. If it felt hot on the surface, it was nothing compared to what it felt down here. It was hot as Hades there.

The tunnel was more of a slide than an actual tube. It was probably a tube that excess lava went through.

Because it was a slide, and Nico had bad luck, Reyna ended up on Nico again. Nico didn't complain aloud like last time, but Reyna could tell that it hurt by the way he was rubbing his back afterwards.

"Where are we?" Reyna asked, turning around staring at the room.

"The one place we can be. Hephaestus's forge."

The room didn't have much in it, probably because it was where Hephaestus shaped his armor and tools. Another bigger tunnel than the one they came through had light along with a silhouette of a man.

Reyna headed in the direction of the silhouette, forcing Nico to follow. This room was a lot more impressive. Projects where littered almost everywhere, including the ceiling. Some were half finished trash projects, others were complete, and still others looked more like artworks than actual machines and automatons. A miniature hellhound followed them across the table as they passed.

They were close enough to hear the grumblings of the figure. "Blasted screw! Never there when you need it." Hephaestus limped off to find his tools.

_Now. Only time we can do it. _Nico mouthed to Reyna. She nodded in response.

_ Do you know what we're looking for? _She mouthed. Nico shook his head and Reyna sighed quietly.

_Where would I put something that both me and my war-crazed brother want? _Reyna scanned the piles, ceiling, and walls, searching for a miracle. She knew they could spend hours searching and turn up nothing. They had spent hours planning, and who knew how long they had spent getting in? She wouldn't be surprised if they'd missed the deadline.

Something along the ceiling something caught Reyna's eye and she motioned to

Nico, catching his attention. He hadn't gone far and he came right over when Reyna called.

"Does that look right?" Reyna whispered as she pointed to the rocky roof.

What they both saw was a blob a celestial bronze. What it actually was was the most beautiful shield they had ever seen. It was polished celestial bronze with spears in the middle creating an x. On the edge there was a inscription that they couldn't make out from that distance. It was a miracle that Reyna could even see it.

"Maybe."

"We don't have time for maybes."

"I don't even know what it is."

"It's a celestial bronze blob, on the ceiling. In a volcano. That's got to be it."

"Come on, our luck isn't that awful." Reyna gave him a look. "You're right. It's that bad. Stay down here and keep watch. I'll throw it down. If worst comes to worst, then leave without me. Ares will appeased with the shield." Nico started to run to the wall, but Reyna stopped him.

"Nico, be careful," He nodded and continued to the wall.

* * *

The climb was hard and tiring. There wasn't nearly as much handholds as the first time, and the climb was farther. The only thing that kept Nico from falling was the fact that if he fell, he would fall to a fiery death. That pushed him to keep going.

With him upside-down, he didn't know how he was going to get across. Nico noticed metal bars, almost like monkey bars leading to the shield. Thanking whatever automatons did this, Nico started across the bars. He almost fell twice, and one his hands slipped when he was loosening the strapping on the shield. Nico could barely see Reyna and guessed where he could throw it without hitting her.

When he finished with the straps on the shield, it started a chain of events. An alarm went off, automatons came from many directions, and Reyna pulled out her sword out to defend herself. Nico's grip slackened on the shield, and it went plummeting down the floor. It hit an automaton.

* * *

Reyna picked up the shield quickly, and strapped it to her arm. She suddenly felt filled with more confidence and power then she did before she had it on. She wiped out the automatons quickly. When she looked up to check on Nico, she was surprised and horrified to see him barely hanging on to one of the bars. Even though she couldn't see him very well, she could see that he was trying to move to the next bar.

"Go!" he shouted. It was a miracle that she could hear him.

"No! We're a team! There's no way I'm leaving you here!"

"Take the shield and go! There's no other way! You'll get caught!"

Before Reyna could argue, Nico let go. He started to plummet when she turned away. She couldn't watch. Against her heart screaming at her to run to lava and check if he was okay, her common sense ruled out. She ran through the tunnel they had come through.

* * *

The way back seemed longer than when they had come in. Reyna hung her head in shame for being unable to help her comrade. She gave the shield a thorough look. The craftsmanship was amazing. Reyna stared at the inscription on shield before looking away. The inscription read: _tantum confortamini superess_

Reyna slowly climbed up the first tunnel. She didn't know how long she had taken to climb it, but she didn't care anymore. She could care less if Ares got mad at her for being late. The only reason why she didn't throw the shield into the lava was that Nico gave his life to get it. She could close her eyes and see him plummet to his death.

Reyna promised herself that as soon as she gave the shield to Ares and Aphrodite, she would give up love forever. Jason forgot about her and fell in love with someone else, Percy was with someone to begin with, and the only one who truly understood her, was dead.


End file.
